A student performs an experiment by ringing a bell in the air and ringing a bell in a pool. He measures the time it takes for a friend to hear the bell. Make and justify a hypothesis on which medium the friend would hear the bell the fastest.
Hypothesis: The friend would hear the bell faster when it is rung in the air compared to when it is rung in the pool.
Justification: When a bell is rung in the air, the sound waves produced travel through the air medium, which is a more efficient medium for sound transmission. Air molecules are less dense and provide less resistance to the sound waves, allowing them to propagate at a faster speed. On the other hand, when the bell is rung in the pool, the sound waves need to travel not only through the water but also through the air-water interface, which can cause a decline in the speed of sound transmission. Water is denser and provides more resistance to sound waves, leading to a slower speed of sound propagation. Therefore, the hypothesis is that the friend would hear the bell faster when it is rung in the air.